Why is New York Liberty fined $25,000? Knowing more about WNBA Finals runner-up violating league policy

New York Liberty was fined after season-ending Game 4 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The league fined $25,000 to the team for breaking rules regarding postgame media interview access after the game. Additionally, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney were also fined $2,000 each for not accepting media requests for interviews.

As per the WNBA rules, two players and a coach from each team must attend the postgame news interaction. Moreover, all those additional players are requested by the media to be available at an alternate location. The interviews with the additional players are conducted in person.

The scene from the Aces side was completely different after the Game 4. While Finals MVP A'ja Wilson was answering questions from the media, several players crashed the conference. Aces’ guard Kelsey Plum reenacted the same act she did in her last championship. She crashed the media interaction once again dancing around with her speaker.

In a close Game 4, the Aces defeated the Liberty 70-69 to win their second back-to-back championship. Liberty had the chance to win the game in the last seconds, but Courtney Vandersloot air-balled the three-point shot from the corner. A'ja Wilson scored a game-highest 24 points and 16 rebounds in 39 minutes of the game. However, Plum didn’t have a great game as she only scored 7 points while playing 40 minutes.

Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu continues playing despite throwing up during game

The stakes were the highest in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. Sabrina Ionescu sunk a much-needed three to even the score, with five minutes remaining. What happened next was a testament to the strength of her will and determination.

Ionescu immediately ran to the sideline and vomited in a trash can. However, that did not deter her from fighting till the last seconds. She immediately ran to the court and continued playing her game. Sabrina herself told ESPN sideline reporter Andraya Carter that she gets nervous before games.

“She told me that she gets nervous before games, but she went right back out, wiped off her chin, and kept on playing,” Carter said about Sabrina.

In the later part of the fourth quarter, Sabrina hit another three-point to cut Aces’ lead. However, her relentless effort and grit were not enough for the Liberty to get past the Aces, losing the best-of-five series for the WNBA title 3-1.